DUTCHESS ROADS CLOSED; SCHOOLS CLOSED TUESDAY
- Gov. Andrew Cuomo declares state of emergency for Dutchess%2C Ulster
- Schools can reschedule missed Regents until Friday
- A travel ban went into effect at 9 p.m. in Dutchess
- Thousands of flights canceled
With the worst of Winter Storm Juno still on the way, Gov. Andrew Cuomo declared a state of emergency for Dutchess and Ulster counties, and closed roads.
A countywide State of Emergency in Dutchess went into effect at 9 p.m. Monday, prohibiting travel on all Dutchess County roadways, except for emergency response, and will be in effect until officially canceled.
A travel ban for all vehicles in all 13 counties under state of emergency was scheduled to start at 11 p.m., Cuomo said.
The question, as the storm continues, is when will the emergency end?
To view updated cancellation information, click here.
By Monday evening, only a dusting had fallen, but emergency crews readied for upwards of two feet of snow by the time Juno leaves the region tonight. Some emergency shelters were set up and schools announced plans to close today. Locals hit the grocery and hardware stores, stocking up on supplies in anticipation of a storm that could be among the biggest on record.
Colleen Traut of Poughkeepsie said she and her family started preparations Sunday for the storm. She was at H.G. Page and Sons Home and Hardware in Poughkeepsie today, finding a shovel for her children.
"We just need one more shovel then we can all work together," she said.
Traudt and her family spent the day buying groceries and cooking meals, she said, and if the family's home loses power, they'll be prepared.
"We've done this before," she said. "We have a well, so we need to have the water ready. Everyone's already taken their showers (Monday) just in case. We also have a cooler ready."
She said her children are looking forward to the storm.
"They are planning to play as soon as the storm is over," she said.
Forecast
Most of Dutchess will get between 18 to 24 inches of snow, though some areas could get more; Pawling, which borders Connecticut, along with surrounding areas, could get 3 feet of snow, the National Weather Service reported.
Snow is expected to fall all day Tuesday, tapering off Tuesday night. A winter storm warning is in effect until 1 a.m. Wednesday, and Dutchess is supposed to get more snow than surrounding counties of Ulster and Columbia.
The "heaviest part of the storm" could hit between 4 a.m. and 5 a.m. Tuesday, said Vasil Koleci of the Weather Service.
"It's going to be a snow event ... wind and snow," Koleci said.
Highland resident Tammy Lindsay said she thinks people are overreacting about the snow.
"This is nothing," Lindsay said. "I've lived in New York all of my life."
Lindsay, who works as a certified surgical technologist in Poughkeepsie, has the day off Tuesday, she said.
Emergencies
A State of Emergency in Dutchess County went into effect at 9 p.m. Monday, County Executive Marc Molinaro said. It prohibits travel on all county roadways, except for emergency response, and will be in effect until officially canceled.
Gov. Andrew Cuomo declared a state of emergency for Dutchess and Ulster, as well as 11 other counties. A travel ban for all vehicles except emergency response, started at 11 p.m., Cuomo said.
Travel
Stewart International Airport in New Windsor remained open Monday night for air traffic, according to the Federal Aviation Administration's airport tracker, but commercial carriers have canceled many of their scheduled flights for Monday and Tuesday. Travelers must contact their carrier for details and rebooking on later flights.
Airlines canceled 2,194 flights Monday, according to the flight tracking site FlightAware. More than 2,000 additional flights have been scrapped for Tuesday.
Metro-North Railroad service was suspended at 11 p.m., until further notice. Trains were added Monday to help commuters rushing home to beat the snow.
John Rolfe, a 57-year-old Red Hook resident, works in Midtown Manhattan as an NHL/NASCAR producer and editor at SportsIllustrated.com. He's also a columnist for the Poughkeepsie Journal.
On Monday, Rolfe said he planned to leave New York City in the afternoon before the weather took a turn for the worse. He'll work from home today, he said.
Rolfe drives a "little" Ford Fiesta, he said. The car, although not four-wheel drive, is equipped with a shovel, deicer and a scraper. He's already experienced some "white-knuckle" rides home thus far this winter, especially when the roads were icy.
"Getting back could be interesting," said Rolfe, of the commute home from New York City.
Schools
By press time, the Arlington, Beacon, Dover, Hyde Park, Marlboro, Millbrook, New Paltz, Pawling, Pine Plains, Poughkeepsie, Spackenkill, Wappingers and Webutuck school districts had already announced closures for today. New Paltz's closure means a scheduled vote for its $52.9 million Capital Project will be postponed.
The Arlington Central School District may see an extended impact from the storm, said Superintendent Brendan Lyons.
"It could even impact Wednesday, depending on how much we get," Lyons said. "It's a sense of getting the kids in, at least touching base with them, maybe giving them some homework to have while they are home."
Because of the weather, school districts for the first time now have the flexibility to reschedule Regents exams and Regents Competency Tests, the state Department of Education announced.
All exams must be completed by the end of the school day on Friday.
Schools operated in Dutchess County by the Archdiocese of New York that rely on public school districts for bus transportation will follow the closing policy of the local district.
Utilities
Central Hudson Gas & Electric Corp. brought in 50 mutual aid crews arriving from Chicago, to assist as needed, according to a press release.
The utility warned to use "extreme caution when traveling, as fallen trees and downed lines can create hazardous driving conditions."
Emergency shelters
The Pawling Fire Department Station on South Street will be open as an Emergency Center, to people who lose power or need heat, according to a news release.
A warming center will be set up at the East Fishkill town fire training and community center on Route 52, for those who lose power for an extended period of time, said Town Supervisor John Hickman. Ambulances and the East Fishkill Fire District are on standby. Residents who need assistance are asked to call East Fishkill police at 845-221-2111.
Storm preparation
The Dutchess County 911 Dispatch communication center was fully staffed Monday, with additional staffing scheduled for the late afternoon and overnight as the storm intensified, according to a statement from County Executive Marc Molinaro.
Dutchess Public Works highway crews had all equipment, including 31 plows, prepped and ready to deploy as the snow began, Molinaro added.
Molinaro activated the Dutchess County Emergency Operations Center Monday, which coordinates response between numerous county agencies as well as state police, the state Department of Transportation, New York State Fire Prevention & Control, Central Hudson and the American Red Cross.
City of Poughkeepsie Mayor John Tkazyik declared a snow emergency, and announced city hall would be closed and city transit services and recycling collection would be suspended today and Wednesday. Dial-a-Ride is suspended for today.
The city's snow emergency means that vehicles were required to be removed from streets that are designated as a snow emergency route.
The Town of Poughkeepsie was readying its fleet of 21 plows. It had 800 tons of a sand-salt mix on hand, Poughkeepsie town Supervisor Todd Tancredi said.
"Though we don't have storms like this frequently," Tancredi said, "it's not anything we haven't seen before."
Keep reading for the latest updates about the forecast, local schools, county offices, travel and more.
Dutchess County
State offices in counties under Cuomo's state of emergency, such as Dutchess and Ulster, closed at 3 p.m.
Under a State of Emergency, critical resources that are normally restricted to State use are mobilized to assist local governments, while laws and regulations that would otherwise impede their rapid response may be suspended, Cuomo's office said.
Central Hudson Gas & Electric Corp. brought in 50 mutual aid crews arriving from Chicago, to assist as needed, according to a press release. The utility warned to use "extreme caution when traveling, as fallen trees and downed lines can create hazardous driving conditions."
State police are reminding drivers to use extreme caution if they have to travel the roadways, as Juno is "predicted to make travel virtually impossible on Tuesday," according to a police news release.
The Dutchess County 911 Dispatch communication center is fully staffed, with additional staffing scheduled for the late afternoon and overnight as the storm intensifies, Molinaro said. Dutchess Public Works highway crews have all equipment, including 31 plows, prepped and ready to deploy as the snow begins.
The Pawling Fire Department Station on South Street will be open as an Emergency Center, to people who lose power or need heat, according to a news release.
A warming center will also be open at the East Fishkill town fire training and community center on Route 52, said Town Supervisor John Hickman. Residents who need assistance are asked to call East Fishkill police at 845-221-2111.
Poughkeepsie City hall will be closed Tuesday; all city transit services on Tuesday and Wednesday have been canceled; Dutchess County Dial-a-Ride is canceled Tuesday, and sanitation and recycling collection will be canceled both days.
City residents and business owners must clear sidewalks in front of and adjacent to their residences and businesses, and placing snow into any roadway is a violation of city ordinances.
Vehicles are required to be removed from Poughkeepsie city streets that are designated as a snow emergency route. To see a list of designated snow routes, click here.
"We are out there with full force and we are ready to go," Tkazyik said.
The East Fishkill Highway Department has 14 trucks in its fleets, Hickman said, which were out in full force today, laying down salt and sand to combat the snow.
Tory Gallante, chief of the Arlington Fire District, said that both career and volunteer personnel have been on "storm standby" since noon. He said each station would have enough people present to ensure at least two district personnel on each rig.
"They will be in the station ahead of time," he said.
Gallante said the district also has its own snow plows to assist in emergency response.
Hospitals
Juno won't stop staff at MidHudson Regional Hospital of Westchester Medical Center from stepping up to do what they do best: deliver outstanding patient care," said Paul Hochenberg, Executive Director of MidHudson Regional Hospital.
"Many of our physicians, nurses, techs and other staff will stay at the Hospital overnight to be on site tomorrow and Wednesday to continue to serve the Hudson Valley community," Hochenberg said. "As always, all critical centers of the Hospital will be open 24/7."
Health Quest's hospitals all have emergency management plans, in particular for arranging for staff to get in.
"We have places for clinical staff to spend the night if they need to," said John Nelson, spokesman for Health Quest, which runs Vassar Brothers Medical Center in Poughkeepsie, Northern Dutchess Hospital in Rhinebeck and Putnam Hospital Center in Carmel.
Arrangements were made to get some food deliveries normally scheduled for Tuesday made on Monday while roads were still good, Nelson said. And grounds crews were busy moving Saturday's snow piles out of the way to make room for the next wave. An extra power generator was ordered to supplement the built-in ones at Vassar.
Most elective surgeries and outpatient appointments get postponed, but emergency services remain open as always, Nelson added. Staff meetings were held to go over emergency plans.
Premier Medical Group in Poughkeepsie will be closed Tuesday.
College Closings
Marist College in the Town of Poughkeepsie has canceled daytime Tuesday classes. Tuesday evening classes have not been canceled.
Bard College in Annandale and SUNY New Paltz canceled all classes for Tuesday.
Dutchess Community College will be closed all day Tuesday and Wednesday, and will reopen at 6 a.m. Thursday.
Classes at Vassar College in the Town of Poughkeepsie are expected to begin as scheduled on Wednesday. The college will accommodate students delayed by travel complications and the weather.
The Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park will close at 10 p.m., and all classes scheduled to begin before 1 p.m. on Tuesday are cancelled.
Nina Schutzman: nschutzman@poughkeepsiejournal.com, 845-451-4518 Twitter: @pojonschutzman; John Ferro: 845-437-4816; jferro@poughkeepsiejournal.com; Twitter: @PoJoEnviro
Journal staff writers John W. Barry, Mark Gerlach, Amanda Purcell, Craig Wolf and the Associated Press contributed to this report.
